Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-11-24
CHAPTER IT
Ch AT1ER IL
By HEAVEN, ILL FIND OUTi

CHAPTER IL
By HEAVEN. ILL FIND OUri
! The horse was all but walking. Swinging
/ into an easy, but rapid, trot, he soon caught
sight of the vehicle again.
Taken up with each other, the lovers
/ failed to notice the mae with set, determined
face and vigilant eye following III the rear;
/ close beside the woods that bordered the
| road where the shades were darkest, keep
ing out of their sight, yet always keeping
/ them in his.
Luck seemed to favc7 him There was no
tr2vclcr in view on the road. But, uncx-
] pectcdly, an old peasant, bending beneath .
| bundle of fagots, came out of the forest
! and, IS soon as the carriage had passed,
] turned around, with the usual rural curios-
| ity, To look after it. So he did not observe
! the figure that plunged into q by-p2th
among the trees and, j few moments later,
emerged at a point some distance beyond.
Those servants - reasoned their pursCer,
''cen't possibly get out of sight, while I'm
among the trees, because the road is per-
fectly straight for some distance on, yet;
and they're going slowly, too
What was his dismay, then, on emerging
from the wood, to see no carSiages
| In astoniShmelt, he glanced up and down
| the road.
Nothing was In sight, except the old
peasant, still toiling on with his bundle of
| fagots; and, far beyond the latter, in the
distance, shepherd, driving a flock Of
| sheep.
Whittier could they have Disappeared
| They, certainly, had not gone on ahead.
| On the other hand, he had been especially
careful to glance in tho direction from
! which they had como. 1t was, therefore,
equally certain that they could not have
| turned back, unless-here there came over
him a dim recollection of certain, half-con-
cealed woodpGths, or lanes, leading into the
forest.
It was some distance from his r sent
position to even the nearest OF these .anes.
| He was very much out of breath, and by
the time he reached the first darkness
would be rapidly falling. Still, he pressed
on. AS he hurried past the flock Of sheep
the shepherd started after him, evidently
amazed at the sight of o gentleman running
along the public road.
He soon came to q wood-path on his left.
The sheep had nearly oblitcrated the wheel
tracks from the highway, but he was posi-
tive that he detected faint and apparently
fresh ruts running into this lane.
Onward he plodded, in a logged, deter
mined trot. So dark was it among the
trees and so dense the growth of weeds and
grasses along the path tn. t it was quite i'm
! possible to discover whether or not the We
hicle had, once again, turned from its course
down this lane into one of the numerous and
still smaller by-lanes that led into it on
either hand.
With patience he still pursued the path,
until 1t began to ascend abruptly, and ended
! at last in i clearing.
A broad, grassy plot lay stretched out be-
fore him. Beyond = was huge mass of
table-roclz. Then there seemed to come q
steep precipice.
Ee walked to the cliffs edge.
Was it fancyi Or Gid he hear carriage
wheels crashing over the stones below!
! Surely, that was a la9gh that smote upon
his ear, lust now He listened intcntly.
But, no! he could hear nothing, except the
wind, signing through the pines, and the
| splashing waters OF q brook, babbling in the
| vale below.
The moon had now arisen in all its si1very
splendor. For miles and miles around he
looked over a level valley, watered by
streams and dotted with lakes that glittered
in tho moonbeamS.
At his feet, several yards below, was a
broad terrace that seemed to fringe tho side
OF the precipico it's entire length, and to
form tho bass of rough carriage-road.
On the terrace, directly beneath him, lay
something glittering in the moons rays. 1t
attracted his attention and aroused his curl
osity. Slowly, he lowered himself from
rock to rock, and ARRIVING on the terrace,
started in surprise; for this time he was
not mistaken. Here was tho distinct and
fresh mark of whecls His heart beat more
quickly.
Going to the spot where he had first seen
the sparkle, he found jewclhandled
palette knife lying in the grass
With tho inspiration of man whose mind
was on the alert he saw al at a glance.
Hero it was she had been painting. Those
wheel-tracks were made by the wagon that
had escaped him. This was her palette
knife which the careless servants had
dropped, or overlooked. He wiped the dew
from the bright blade and put the knife in
his pocket.
Following the wagon-tracl1s towards the
left, he found, not much farther on, a dainty
lace handkerchief.
Luck has at last come to me- he said,
! aloud. putting the han G&crchiof in his pocket
with the knife.
Then it occurred to him her name might
be upon it. He looked again at it. In the
clear light of the moon he could distin guish
an IN" woven dcllc;:tcly in the center. N!
For what did Y. stand? Nora. Nancy, Nam
ME, Ncttie, Nelly, Natalie! He raclzed his
brain for all the names beginning with n,
| but none so pleased him as Natalie. In his
excited state, this name would not away
from him, and kept fitting through his
brain, as he passed rapidly down the road,
that now descended. The brook, that he had
heard in the vale below, caInc nearer. He
| had no doubt this was the stream that
fed the pool where first he saw her. Turn
ing sharply to the right, the brook then fol-
| lowed the windings of the principal
thoroughfare. Walking brisl-ly along, tie
man, as he expected, soon came 70 the well
remembered pool.
Yesi here it was that she had stood be-
side her horse; there was the stone on
which she had slept, whCn reInounting HIM,
two hours before; and yonder, the clump of
bushes that had concealed her unsupported
observer
He stopped 20 drink. for he was thirsty,
and feverish with excitement.
AS he rose something fell from his pocket